Banjo



(No Model.)

G. E. ROGERS.

BANJO. No. 301,832, 7 Patented July 8, 1884.

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GEORGE E. ROGERS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BANJO:

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,832, dated July 8,1884:.

Application filed March 24, 1883. Renewed May 2, 1884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, GEORGE E. Roenns, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvementsin Banjos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide certain improvementsrelating to the tailpiece of a banjo; and it consists, first, inpivoting the tail-piece to its supporting-standard, so that said partswill not become separated, and can be folded or packed in compact formwhen disconnected from the banjo; and, secondly, in an improvedarrangement of stringholes in said tailpiece, all of which I will nowproceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a top view of a portion of a banjo provided with myimprovements. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section of the same. Fig.3 rep resents an enlarged section of the said piece and a part of itssupportingstandard.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, a represents a banjo tail piece, and 1) represents thestandard or post which secures the tail-piece to the body of the banjo,said post passing through an orifice in a head or bracket, 0, which isscrewed to the body of the banjo in the usual manner, and having anut,d, bearing against the under side of said head.

6 represents a teat or lug on the under side of the tail-piece. Said lugforms a shoulder which bears against the ring j, which holds the head ofthe banjo. The standard I) is hinged or pivoted at i to the lug e, andis therefore connected to the tail-piece below the latter, so that nopivots or other securing devices are visible on the upper surface of thetail-piece which presents a neater and more ornamental appearance thanwould be the case. if the standard b passed through the tail-piece andwere visible on the upper side thereof. The pivoted connection of thetail-piece to the standard b enables the tail-piece to be held up by thetension of the strings, so that it will,

not fall on the head j of the banjo and muffle the tone, and, alsoconstitutes a permanent connection which prevents the tail-piece andstandard from being separated when disconnected from the banjo, andenables the two parts to lie close together in compact form, as

(N0 model.)

shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The wider end of the tail-pieceisprovided on its upper surface with a raised rib, 1'. The holes 3 for thestrings are drilled from the lower corner of the tail-piece diagonallyupward to the inner side of the ribof the tail-piece, as shown in Fig.3. The outer ends of said holes are therefore lower than the inner ends,and the strings are inclined downwardly from the bridge t to a greaterextent than they would be if the holes 8 were parallel with the uppersurface of the tailpiece. This downward inclination of the strings,together with the pivotal connection of the tailpiece and itssupporting-standard, enables the strings to raise the end of thetail-piece to which they are connected and hold it elevated above thehead of the banjo, so that the tail-piece cannot muffle or impair thetone of the banjo.

I am aware that it is not new to bend a banjo tail-piece downwardly toform a shoulder adapted to bear against the body of the banjo, andoutwardly from said shoulder to receive the supporting-standard, thelatter passing through a hole in the tail-piece. I do not thereforeclaim a tail-piece provided with a shoulder to bear against the body ofthe banjo, excepting when said shoulder is in the form of a teat adaptedto be pivoted to the supporting-standard at a point entirely below theupper surface of the tail-piece.

I claim 1. A tail-piece and its supporting-standard connected by a pivotor hinge joint, as set forth.

2. The tailpiece-having the teat or lug 0 combined with the standard I),hinged or pivoted to said lug, as set forth.

3. The tail-piece hinged or pivoted to' its supportingstandard, andprovided with the raised rib r, and the string-holes 8, extending fromthe lower corner or surface of the tailpiece diagonally upward to therear side of said rib, whereby the strings are enabled to hold thetail-piece out of contact with the head of the banjo, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification,in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses,this 22d day of March,1883.

GEORGE E. ROGERS.

- \Vitnesses':

O. F. BROWN. A. L. WHITE.

